Drifting Easy By Sue Foster 8/31/04

            “I want to catch some big fish this fall!”

            Live bait larger than a live minnow is the answer to catching 
big fish after Labor Day. The bay is full of alewives, finger mullet, spot, 
and small “trash fish” such as lizardfish.  The trick to fishing with “live 
bait” is being a little more prepared. You need to invest in an aerator or 
two.  If you live on the water, or keep your boat in a boat slip, you may 
want to invest in or make a “holding pen” for your extra live bait. And you 
need to spend some time catching the bait. Some anglers spend as much time 
in the fall catching bait as they do catching the fish! But it is 
worthwhile!

            Alewives, also called “peanut bunker” are a juvenile baitfish. 
One can see them in huge schools flashing just beneath the surface in 
canals, lagoons, creeks, and marina basins. They make great “live bait” and 
are easy to catch with a cast net. The only problem with alewives is that 
they are very delicate and will rarely live overnight in a bait holder 
unless you only keep a very few.  The angler needs to catch them that same 
day, and only keep enough for fishing and release the rest.

            Alewives seem to be around early in the morning and at night. 
They also seem to be more plentiful at low tide than at high tide.  If you 
are going to fish the high tide for flounder, trout, or stripers, start 
looking for bait at low tide. Alewives are quite slow and easy to catch with 
a cast net. Search for them in the canals, lagoons, or any marina basin. You 
can also find them up in the creeks such as Herring Creek, Ayres Creek, or 
Derrickson Creek. I have seen schools of them at the pier behind the 
Recreational Center at 127th Street as well.

            An aerator is a must when keeping live bait. A simple battery 
operated aerator hooked up with a 5-gallon bucket will keep your bait alive 
while catching or transporting bait. (Hint: Always keep a back-up aerator 
ready with fresh batteries in case you lose one to a mishap, battery failure 
or aerator failure.) Don’t try to keep more than 3-dozen alewives in a 
5-gallon bucket at one time. And please don’t waste them. Just keep enough 
to fish with and quickly release the rest before the delicate fish die. 
They are an important part of our fisheries “food chain.”

            Finger mullet are much hardier and one can keep them in a bait 
holder or bait pen for several days. They are also harder to catch!  The 
best way to catch finger mullet is with a cast net.  They are faster than 
alewives and often run in smaller schools. You have to be fast to catch the 
finger mullet.

            Finger mullet can be found in creek areas, next to green 
marshes, canals, lagoons, close to sand bars in the bay, and marina basins. 
You can also find them at inlet areas and in the surf.  If you are not real 
good with a cast net, netting them in shallower water is easier for the 
novice. Stand on a beach such as the park at 127th Street, Homer Gudelsky 
Park in West Ocean City, Holt’s Landing off of Route 26 in Delaware, or near 
the Cape Henelopen Pier, or on any sandbar in the bay.  Wait for the schools 
of mullet to come by and cast net them. Try to keep your shadow behind you. 
(You will find they are easier to catch if the sun is behind a cloud.) 
Quickly put them in an aerated bucket with a lid on it. You will quickly 
find out why mullet are sometimes called “jumping mullet!”  They will jump 
right out of your bucket or live well if you are not careful!

            “Everyone is talking about using live spot!”

            Live spot is a very popular and sought-after bait in our area. 
Some bait stores carry them for sale. They are expensive, around $2 per 
bait, but so are the bloodworms that anglers use to catch them!

            One way to catch spot is with little pieces of bloodworm (or 
other types of worm) on little tiny fresh water size 8 hooks.  At our tackle 
stores we make a 3-hook spot rig that is very popular for catching bait 
spot. Others use Sabiki rigs or simply put two leadered size #8 fresh water 
type hooks on a top and bottom rig. You don’t need much bait, just a little 
piece of worm. Fresh tuna or beef liver will work if you can’t get your 
hands on any worms.

            The best places to catch live spot are in canals, lagoons, 
marina basins, or back- bay creek areas such as Ayres Creek, Derrickson 
Creek and Herring Creek. If you are in a boat, areas close to the marsh near 
the Route 90 Bridge or Thorofare are good. Don’t butt right up to a green 
marsh or you will start catching little sea bass. Spot like muddy bottom 3 
to 4 feet deep. You can also chum with pieces of crushed crab, shrimp 
shells, cat food, tuna scraps, etc… while fishing for the spot fish.

            You need a running tide to catch the spot and you need to catch 
them during the day. They quit biting after dark! Fish for bait spot on the 
low incoming tide, and start fishing for the flounder, trout and stripers on 
the incoming high tide. (Don’t get so involved in catching the bait that you 
miss your fishing tide!)

            “How else can you catch spot?”

            You can catch them with an umbrella net. An umbrella net is made 
from a wire frame with a square mesh netting stretched across it. The net is 
lowered into the water below a dock or bulkhead. Bait the net with crushed 
crab, cat food, or tuna or bunker scraps. Pull the net up quickly every five 
or 10 minutes.

            You can also buy a “spot trap” that is made by local watermen, 
or a pinfish trap that is similar to a “spot trap.” If you have a good area 
to catch the spot, these will work. Otherwise, you are better off catching 
them with lines or an umbrella net.

            Can you cast net them?  You can, if you know where they are. 
They don’t come to the surface, like mullet and alewives do. So you have to 
let the net sink to the bottom. Chumming works good when cast netting for 
spot.

            Sometimes you catch other baitfish in your net. Pinfish, which 
are similar in size and color as spot work just as well. They do have a 
sharp spine that you can cut off with scissors before baiting up. If you are 
going to “pen” your spot for a long period of time, do not put the spot and 
pinfin together, as the sharp spins can injure the spot fish.

            When you cast net near a sand bar you may catch some big striped 
minnows. They work well for flounder and trout. You may catch some really 
prehistoric fish we call lizardfish, when fishing with hook and line. These 
make great live bait if they are not too big. Larger ones can be filleted 
and used for flounder bait. Flounder love lizardfish! Believe it or not, 
lizardfish are one of the best flounder baits there are.

            “How do you rig these larger baits?”

            First of all, you need a fairly large hook.  An Octopus or Kahle 
styled hook in the 3/0 to 4/0 size is good. Set it up just like you would an 
“eel rig” for stripers. You can do this either of two ways. Tie your hook to 
the end of a 30-inch piece of 30 to 40 pound test monofilament or 
Fluorocarbon leader. At the end of the leader tie a black barrel swivel. Now 
you can either set this up on a fish finder rig, or make an egg-sinker rig.

            To make an egg-sinker rig tie a barrel swivel to the end of your 
line and then tie a piece of 30 or 40 pound test leader about 8-inches long 
to the barrel swivel. Slip on an egg sinker in the 1 ½ to 3-ounce size 
range. Then tie your barrel swivel attached to your long leadered hook to 
the end of that line. The egg sinker will slide back and forth between the 
two barrel swivels.

            Hook the spot, alewife, finger mullet or lizardfish through the 
upper lip, eyes, or just behind the mouth.

            The larger the baitfish, the longer you need to let the fish eat 
before setting the hook. I count to 10, feel for the weight of the fish as I 
raise my rod tip, cross my fingers, and set the hook hard!

            Good fishing…



			Need rigs and sinkers? Visit our  Online Mall!